Incremental Factory Review

In the realm of virtual industry, where the symphony of machines and the relentless pursuit of efficiency reign supreme, emerges a game that invites players to construct and manage their own thriving industrial empire: Incremental Factory. This captivating title blends elements of incremental gameplay with the strategic intricacies of factory management, offering an immersive experience that captivates and challenges players alike. Does Incremental Factory build on the success of previous factory games or does it sacrifice substance for simplicity?

Crafting an Industrial Utopia

Incremental Factory presents players with a blank canvas, a world devoid of any industrial infrastructure. From this humble beginning, players are tasked with building and expanding their factory, gradually transforming it into a bustling metropolis of production. Incremental Factory follows pretty much the exact same format (in terms of gameplay) as all other factory-builder games – gather resources, grow the factory, rinse and repeat!

The starting interface is blank, with some text options available. At first, you are required to source specific quantities of resources that you require in order to expand your factory and to progress onto the next step. Once you have set about extracting those resources, you watch and wait until the quantity has been met, before the next step unlocks / becomes available for you to interact with. After you carry out your first piece of research successfully, you have the option to unlock a map, which shows you a higher-level overview of your factory.

The core gameplay revolves around constructing various buildings, each with its own specialised function, such as mining resources, processing materials, and manufacturing finished goods. It never fails to surprise me just how quickly it’s possible to get sucked into the world of resource-gathering. Soon enough, you begin to see a much more complex factory than the one you started out with!

As the factory grows, you are faced with a series of intricate decisions. How can resources be allocated efficiently to ensure maximum output? What technologies should be researched to unlock new production capabilities? These are just a few of the challenges that you will encounter in order to create a well-oiled and profitable industrial empire. The more you focus, the more you are able to expand your factory and before you know it, your factory will have become utterly colossal!

You must be aware of energy consumption and, more importantly, building slots because if either of these values maxes out, your factory will stop in its tracks! From there, you need to tactically determine what the best parts of your factory would be to sacrifice in order to keep the whole functioning.

From Humble Beginnings to Global Domination

Incremental Factory‘s progression system is designed to keep players engaged for hours on end. As the factory expands, new technologies become available, allowing for more efficient production and the creation of higher-tier goods. Incremental Factory also introduces a series of challenges, such as waves of alien invaders that threaten to disrupt the factory’s operations. At first, these seemed strange and somewhat out of place, but it quickly became apparent that it wouldn’t be a proper factory builder without an alien invasion! On a serious note, it also ensures that your factory is able to withstand outside interference and still function successfully. As such, successfully overcoming these challenges not only rewards players with valuable resources but also unlocks new achievements and milestones.

Progression is further enhanced by the research system, which allows you to unlock new technologies and upgrades that improve the efficiency and productivity of your factory. This system adds a layer of depth and strategy, as you are required to carefully weigh the benefits and costs of each research project before making a decision.

Don’t let the simple interface fool you, however, because there is plenty of research to be carried out in Incremental Factory!

No-Nonsense Visuals

Incremental Factory is not very pretty to look at, but that isn’t to say that it’s unpleasant to look at, either. It’s simply a very simple, no-nonsense interface that clearly shows you what is happening at all times with minimal space for confusion. There are no sprawling alien vistas, there are no top-down pixelated scenes to explore – there is merely text and numbers on a screen. Later on, said text and numbers turn into a large, and rather impressive flow chart (see previous section for screenshots). Personally, I quite like a good flow chart, but the aesthetic most certainly isn’t for everyone, and there will no doubt be people who simply can’t get immersed in something so simple.

Beyond the Factory Floor

There is decent replay value in Incremental Factory as you will almost certainly keep finding ways to improve your factory to become bigger, better and more efficient. There will be better ways and methods to carry out particular tasks, there will be repairs following alien invasions, and there is a lot of research to carry out which you probably won’t complete in full the first time around. As such, depending on how far you want to take your factory and subsequent experience, Incremental Factory is a game that you can dip in and out of as often as you like and always find something to do.

Conclusion

Incremental Factory is a captivating blend of incremental gameplay and factory management, offering a unique and engaging experience for players who enjoy building and optimising complex systems. One glaring difference between Incremental Factory and other games in the genre is the vast contrast in visuals. Whilst others opt for more complex visuals, Incremental Factory strives to do the opposite, providing as little additional detail as possible, opting to focus primarily on the facts at hand. Incremental Factory also starts off slow, which could be off-putting to those looking to get stuck in immediately. However, despite the basic interface and slow start, Incremental Factory progresses into a factory builder where you could easily – and unintentionally – lose several hours without even realising. The flow-chart visuals allow you to keep a very clear view of things whilst also being able to drill down to a much more granular level in order to micro-manage every aspect you desire. As such, Incremental Factory is a great title to get stuck into, especially for factory builder aficionados!

Grade: 8/10